The Wilbers BMW Racing Team has been on a test tour in Spain for six days. For IDM Superbike 1000 title contender Florian Alt, the crew has brought along the new BMW M 1000 RR superbike. Up-and-coming rider Marco Fetz is riding the S 1000 RR model.
Florian Alt is a sure bet for the team. In his three races for the Wilbers BMW Racing Team last year, he consistently finished on the podium. At the time, he was riding the S 1000 RR, which has now been handed over to Marco Fetz. Alt is now set to score points on the brand-new M 1000 RR and compete for the title in the IDM premier class. The Superbike was just this week voted Motorcycle of the Year by the readers of “MOTORRAD” magazine.
At the first test venue, Motorland Aragón near Alcañiz, Alt was thrilled with the bike. “For a day and a half, there was so much oil on the track that we couldn’t complete the full program we’d planned, but overall it went better than we expected,” reports Burkhard Stember, technical director at Wilbers-BMW. Although the crew would have liked to put the best parts together again and have Alt set a benchmark lap on the Pirelli SC01 slick tires, a rider from another group had contaminated the track due to engine failure.
“We still have a lot of work to do,” said Stember, “the M 1000 RR’s electronics are more complex, and the linkage is different as well. For use in the M RR, the lever kinematics have been significantly modified compared to the RR. The RR’s adjustment strut (length 87.5 mm) has been replaced in the M RR by an eccentric strut milled from solid aluminum with an initial length of 78 mm. A new feature here is the ability to adjust the length within a range of 6 mm.”
Team newcomer Marco Fetz had to complete the subsequent test in Valencia without his Superbike teammate Florian Alt. In the meantime, the 24-year-old from Nümbrecht was fulfilling his commitments in the World Endurance Championship. Fetz fulfilled his solo role perfectly. Although he had previously only known the Circuit Ricardo Tormo from the PlayStation, the 21-year-old Bavarian from Kleinbreitenbronn clocked a top time of 1:36.6 minutes, earning himself some respect. Fetz left Bastien Mackels, who was also present, a tenth of a second behind him. In a sprint race held today, Wednesday, Mackels was in the lead, but Fetz put him under pressure for four laps before the Belgian left the track after a highside.
Stember is pleasantly surprised by the young driver. “He’s smart, and we work well together.” Stember can easily imagine Fetz becoming a top driver in the future.
The team will now head to Barcelona. The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is located in Montmeló, Catalonia, about 25 kilometers north of the city. Testing on the Grand Prix circuit will begin on Friday. Florian Alt will also be rejoining the team in Barcelona.